The Communications Maturity Model described in section 1.2 can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an external communications function. The model can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization’s communications function and to identify areas for improvement. This chapter explicitly examines the importance of evaluating communications activities, and the ways in which evaluation can be conducted.
All communications activities should be measured and evaluated to confirm that they achieve communications objectives. As Peter Drucker famously said, “what gets measured gets done.” Measurement and evaluation should be a consideration throughout a communications activity and should not wait until an activity has concluded.
Done effectively, measurement leads to iterative improvements to communication. Evaluation can guide future activities and strategy development. Measurement also presents opportunities for continuous improvement and helps organizations develop an understanding of the impact of communications activities. In turn, an evaluation demonstrates the tremendous return on investment that good communication can provide.
The most common form of measuring communication activities is the use of Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. According to the website KPI.org, “KPIs are the critical (key) indicators of progress toward an intended result. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters.
KPIs should be identified at the start of the activity, not when the final results are in. KPIs should demonstrate the impact of the activity on organizational goals and, if they are already in place, provide an effective benchmark that allows for easy tracking of improvements and progress.
When developing KPIs, it is important to recognize and distinguish between output measures and outcome measures. Output measures track the statistical organization’s activities. These are typically reasonably easy to collect. Outcome measures track the effect those activities had on the intended audience. These are often difficult, sometimes impossible, to collect. Nonetheless, outcome measures are the gold standard of evaluation.
Three types of common communication measures can become KPIs:
Using a combination of measures, particularly with an increased use of analytical measures, can help to evaluate the contribution that communication makes to the overall project outcome.
It is important to recognize the difference between communications objectives and business/program objectives. Communications objectives typically focus on what the audience is expected to think, feel or do differently because of the communications activities. Business/program objectives present the results that a manager hopes to achieve in a project or business enterprise. Recognizing the difference allows for a separate and objective evaluation of each set of objectives. For example, communications objectives could be met, but the project may not have met all its business/program objectives. This usually means that the initial business/program objectives were faulty.
Thinking about objectives can help identify issues or areas for improvement within the communications or program implementation. It also promotes the maturity and professionalism of the communications industry.
A number of questions can be asked to help assess the success of communications objectives separately from the success of the business or project. These include
In addition to these questions, consider the following PROOF principles when measuring or evaluating communications activities:
Figure 9 presents a method to align objectives with activities and lessons learned.
Figure 9 Examples of communication evaluation
Objective | Communications activities | Key performance indicators | Lessons learned |
To increase awareness of x issue. | · Stakeholder engagement undertaken · Information sessions conducted · Web copy updated · Press release issued | · Number of media mentions · Number of website hits | The approach must be multi-channel and key messages need to be fully integrated. |